


explorers (an interlude)

by obsessivelymoody



Series: space dementia [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Blow Jobs, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, cottagecore boyfriends!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessivelymoody/pseuds/obsessivelymoody
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, Dan and Phil stumble upon the perfect little cottage in the English countryside.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: space dementia [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737886
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65
Collections: Alittledizzy birthday fics 2020





	explorers (an interlude)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/gifts).



> For the lovely Mandy <3 Happy birthday!!!!!! Last year we had a little group theme of writing apocafic for you, and I've been slowly working on my fic for over a year now lol. It's a long fic, and kind of my muse, my passion project, and something I can't wait to gift to you. I wanted it to be finished for your bday this year but it isn't, so I hope you enjoy this little interlude in the life of this deppy. Thanks for being the best, and you deserve the world. I hope this year is kind to you <333
> 
> Big thanks to [Cait](https://twitter.com/gaykaspbrks) and [Julie](https://twitter.com/Ataraxia25) for being the realest and always reading my stuff for me <3
> 
> This fic can be read on it's own, or if you want some more context you can go back to part 1 in this series and read that bit!

"You're sure?"

"Of course," Phil says, tiling his chin back down to meet Dan’s eyes. 

“You’re going to drip soap everywhere,” he whispers and taps behind his ear. 

Phil leans back again, head touching the mirror behind him. Dan shuffles forward, slotting himself between Phil’s knees. The backs of Phil’s socked heels tap lightly against the wood cupboard under the counter. 

He was never the one to favour sitting on counters. That was always Dan’s job. To be small or playful or both, but really to just get Phil’s attention in the kitchen—Phil’s parent’s kitchen in Rawtenstall, actually. The memory makes him smile as he leans over Phil. 

“What’s so funny?” Phil asks. 

“Nothing,” he says. “Just remembering being young and stupid horny.”

Phil’s eyes shut. “I’ll hold onto those images forever.” 

Dan snorts, shaking his head and picking up the short knife from where it rests near the sink. 

“Ready then?” 

Phil nods, eyes still closed. Dan puts a hand where Phil’s left shoulder connects to his neck, thankful that his left hand is steady as he moves forward with the blade. The tap drips as he swipes up Phil’s neck, hair and soap coming away cleanly from his skin. 

It’s their third day in this little miracle cottage. Deserted, secluded in the English bush, miles away from the main roads. They were lucky to have stumbled upon this place, and even luckier to find it completely untouched and safe. 

“Like it’s been completely forgotten about,” Dan had said after their first sweep of the cottage. 

It’s small and simple, a bedroom, kitchen, lounge, and bathroom, where they currently are now. And fortunately—being completely untouched—a small collection of preserves were found in the pantry, a few bars of soap in the loo cabinet, and clean, slightly dusty linens were folded in drawers. 

But best of all, the water was _running_ , and it wasn’t even murky yet. 

“I need to shave,” Phil announced that morning as they shared a jar of raspberry preserves. “I don’t know when we’ll have water like this again.” 

“For the record I think you look very sexy with a beard,” Dan said. 

Phil wrinkled his nose. “It just itches. Feels weird to touch my face with hair this long.”

Dan laughed and kissed where his beard started against his cheekbone. 

An hour later he’d found Phil in the bathroom, face soaped up and staring into the mirror with knitted brows. A shaking hand held the short knife they’d made sure to take from the flat before they left. It was a souvenir from Kath and Nigel—more Nigel, really, from a trip to Morocco. The hilt is made of wood, decorated with one of the region’s indigenous tribes' traditional patterns. Neither of them had a fuck of an idea what to do with it, and Dan bit his tongue to keep from asking if they bought it from a tribe member or not, but they stored it in a drawer for safe keeping. Dan never really believed something like this, something only in novels and movies, would ever happen, but he’s glad they kept the knife handy in the end. 

“Phil?” He asked quietly. 

Phil set the knife down on the counter. “I can’t—I need help. My hands…”

 _Shake too much now_ , Dan finished in his head. Phil’s never had a proper steady hand, and Dan learned quickly that it was made worse when he got anxious. He thought about all the times he took Phil’s hands in his own, smoothing them between his palms and lightly massaging up them. 

He doesn’t have the luxury of doing that when needed now. They hardly slept at the same time anymore, and not to mention he’d be doing it constantly. He can’t remember the last time Phil reached out without the obvious tremor. 

“Hop up on the counter,” he said, and here they are now, Dan carefully dragging the blade up Phil’s neck, wiping it on a hand towel between strokes. 

There was no sound outside of their own breathing, but that’s always been a comfort for Dan. On his worst nights Phil was always there beside him, breathing with him, telling him to breathe, telling him it will be okay. That he’s safe. 

He feels safe now, and it’s like the weight of the world is off his shoulders. He hasn’t felt safe since all this shit happened, and he doesn’t know how long this will last but he’s savouring it, holding it close to his chest like a child with their favourite toy. 

“I wish we had some aftershave or something,” Dan says when he finishes, turning on the tap to wet a corner of the soapy hand towel. He wipes Phil’s face gently, dropping the towel after he’s done and resting a soft hand on the back of Phil’s head. 

Phil’s eyes open now, blinking at Dan as he straightens his head. He brings a hand up to feel his face, lips forming a small smile as he lays his hand over the one on the back of his head. 

“It’s not the closest shave ever but—” 

“No,” Phil cuts him off. “Stop it. I needed this, it feels good. Feels like me, like…”

Dan rests his forehead against Phil’s, tone dropping. “Before?”

Phil nods against him, and there’s an unmistakable sorrow in his voice when he says: “Thank you.”

*

In the evening after they indulged on their rationed supper, Dan decides he’s going to take advantage of the running water again and have another shower. 

They’d showered on the first night here, taking turns in case anything happened. But the water was still running relatively clear, and Dan missed taking showers, even if the water was cold. He missed indulging in expensive baths and letting himself lay back in too-hot water, a carefully curated playlist humming softly from their bathroom speakers with his latest obsession pulled up on his phone’s browser. 

God he misses that fucking phone too. 

“Maybe I should join you,” Phil says without looking at him. Dan quirks an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth turning up. “You know, waste less water.”

“Oh yeah, water-conscious Philly?”

“I’m conscious of everything,” Phil says, meeting his eyes and matching his smirk. 

Dan barks out a laugh. “You’re an idiot.” 

He gets up then, walking towards the bathroom. He pulls his shirt off as he goes, discarding it on the floor before working on his jeans. 

“I’m your idiot!” Phil calls after him. 

The cottage is small, so Phil catches up to him in seconds, arms wrapping around him and pressing his lips to the back of Dan’s neck. He lets out a breathy sound, twisting in Phil’s arms to pepper kisses along his newly shaven jaw. He kisses up to his mouth, stopping there to draw out the action, slow and long and lingering. He pulls back when Phil pushes into him, eyes locked on Phil’s pouty face as he slips the rest of his clothes off and steps into the tub. 

Phil follows suit as Dan turns on the water. He shivers from the cold as he steps under it, wetting his hair. Phil shuts the shower curtain when he gets in, and they move like clockwork together, shifting to take turns under the water and soaping up each other’s hair. 

They’re both hard at the end of it, and Dan’s glad for it. Sex is difficult and almost an impossibility right now, and he can’t remember when the last time they did anything more than quick handjobs, fully clothed. He misses sex so much, misses the freedom of their bedroom and toy drawer, and really all the other places they’ve fucked around the flat. 

So Dan drops to his knees, taking Phil in his hand and kissing the tip of his cock. Phil sighs contently, turning off the water and gripping the tap for support. Dan sucks the head into his mouth, swirling his tongue in a way that is probably a little sloppy now with lack of practice but makes Phil moan all the same. 

“My legs are gonna give out,” Phil says, making Dan laugh around his cock. 

They move to the bedroom, not bothering to stop and dry off. Phil sits on the edge of the bed, and for the second time that day Dan slots himself between Phil’s legs. He picks up where he left off, swiftly taking Phil back into his mouth. He pumps his hand across the length that isn’t in his mouth, looking up as Phil falls back onto his elbows, skin flushed a dark pink that makes Dan’s own dick twitch. 

He pulls off, feeling a little lightheaded at the sight of Phil’s slick cock in his hand, a string of saliva still connecting his mouth to it. Dan’s other hand comes down to stroke himself as he works up Phil, twisting his wrist ever so slightly in the way he knows Phil likes. Phil mumbles some kind of gibberish that makes Dan smile. 

Stroking one more time, he comes back down again, taking Phil fully in his mouth and hollowing his cheeks. His hand moves down to Phil’s balls, fondling them as he moves up and down on his cock. Phil moans deeply.

Phil comes soon after, shooting hot against the back of Dan’s throat. Dan’s just about ready to blow his own load, practically untouched, as he swallows and pulls off. 

“C’mere,” Phil says gruffly, reaching out for him. 

He listens, getting onto the bed. Phil lays back, pulling Dan on top of him. He straddles his torso, a whine escaping from his lips when Phil grabs hold of his dick. He leans back, hands resting on Phil’s thighs for balance and practically fucking his hand.

As he comes, he bites down on his lip, whining louder and arching his back, head tipped at the ceiling. He snaps his head back in time to see beads of come dribble across Phil’s fingers, dripping to join the streaks of white across his chest.

Dan thinks he could come again just looking at Phil, fucked out and covered in _him_. 

*

When they’re cleaned up again they crawl back into bed, Phil pulling Dan against his front. For a fleeting moment, Dan wants to cry. It’s so reminiscent of their life before that the goodness in it is almost painful. 

But at the core it’s so _good _, making him wish this moment could last forever, that they could stay in this little cottage forever instead of having to continue on in a few days.__

__(He’ll let himself live in the moment for now, though. Nothing can spoil this.)_ _

__His hair probably drying sex-mussed and three blankets are piled on them because there’s no heating and the nights are getting colder, and when Dan turns his head into the pillow it doesn’t smell like their usual detergent or like Phil. It’s all so fucking weird but everything is so familiar. If he closes his eyes, he can pretend they’re back in the flat on a cold night._ _

__Pretending doesn’t do much but set him up for heartbreak, but right now he feels at _home_._ _

__“Feels like normal,” he whispers._ _

__Phil hums, pulling him in closer. “A new normal.”_ _

__“A new normal,” Dan agrees, something warm and inviting and soft blooming in his chest._ _

__He sleeps easily that night, and for the first time in a very long time, he wakes up without panic bubbling in him. He wakes up feeling nothing but _safe_._ _

**Author's Note:**

> GO WISH MANDY A HBD!!!!!
> 
> you can like/reblog this on [tumblr](https://obsessivelymoody.tumblr.com/post/617688971820072961/explorers-an-interlude-rating-m-word-count) if you want.
> 
> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/obsessivemoody) too.


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